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Private pilot · ACS PA.I.H · Instructor lesson plan

Human Factors

Student pack: Train: Human Factors · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain human factors in their own words and apply it to a realistic flight, to the ACS standard for PA.I.H.

Why it matters for safety: Most accidents involve a human decision, not a broken airplane: flying impaired, tired or under pressure, disorientation in poor visibility, or a hazardous attitude overriding good judgment. This task is about knowing how your body and mind can fail you in the air, and the tools that catch it before it matters.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Human Factors. Your body and your judgment: hypoxia, disorientation, illusions, fitness to fly, and making good decisions.

Anyone can open this link, no account needed. To see who trained it on your roster, use a free instructor account.

Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ppl/human-factors · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ppl/human-factors

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • Check yourself before every flight with IMSAFE: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion (or Eating).(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeronautical Decision-Making)
  • Hypoxia sneaks up: euphoria, headache, poor judgment. The cure is oxygen and descent.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Spatial disorientation: your inner ear lies without outside references. Believe the instruments.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Carbon monoxide from a heater leak causes headache and drowsiness: heat off, vents open, land.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • No flying within 8 hours of alcohol, under the influence, or at 0.04 or above; no drugs that affect your faculties.(14 CFR 91.17)
  • The five hazardous attitudes (anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, resignation) each have an antidote you say to yourself.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeronautical Decision-Making)
  • Expectation and confirmation bias make you hear the clearance you expect and see what you want: read back and verify.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Your body at altitude and in the cockpit

  • Hypoxia: not enough oxygen. Hypoxic (altitude), hypemic (blood can't carry it, e.g. carbon monoxide), stagnant (poor circulation) and histotoxic (cells can't use it, e.g. alcohol). Symptoms include euphoria, headache, blue lips and fingernails, and impaired judgment; they differ from person to person and come on insidiously, so you can't count on noticing them. Night vision degrades from about 5,000 feet; smoking, alcohol, fatigue, cold and some medications make it worse; impairment can start well below the 91.211 oxygen altitudes (crew above 12,500 for over 30 minutes, above 14,000 always; passengers provided above 15,000). For altitude hypoxia, use oxygen and descend. For carbon monoxide or a histotoxic cause, also remove the cause and get medical care: descending alone doesn't fix it.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; 14 CFR 91.211)
  • Hyperventilation (breathing too fast, often from stress) feels much like hypoxia: tingling, dizziness, lightheadedness. At altitude or on oxygen, treat it as hypoxia first: check the oxygen equipment and flow, use oxygen, descend. Only once hypoxia is ruled out, slow your breathing, talk out loud, or breathe into a paper bag; bag-breathing a hypoxic pilot makes it worse.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; AIM 8-1-2, 8-1-3)
  • Carbon monoxide (from an exhaust leak into the cabin heat): headache, drowsiness, dizziness. Turn the heat off, open the fresh-air vents and windows, use oxygen if available, land as soon as possible, get medical attention, and have the airplane inspected before it flies again. A CO detector is recommended, not required, and spot detectors are unreliable: knowing the symptoms and these actions is the real defense.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; AIM 8-1-4)
  • Ear and sinus blocks: equalize early and often in a descent with a gentle Valsalva (pinch your nostrils and blow slowly; never force it, which can injure the eardrum). If a block develops, climb to relieve it, equalize gently, then descend more slowly. Sinus blocks can happen in a climb or a descent. Don't fly with a cold or congestion.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; AIM 8-1-4)
  • Spatial disorientation: without outside references, the inner ear gives false signals. The vestibular illusions: the leans, Coriolis (from moving your head in a turn), the graveyard spiral, the graveyard spin, somatogravic (acceleration feels like pitching up), inversion, and the elevator illusion. Fly the attitude indicator despite what you feel, keep head movements small in turns, avoid abrupt maneuvers, don't continue VFR into IMC, and hand off to another pilot if one is aboard. In a graveyard spiral, reduce power and level the wings before easing the nose up; pulling back alone tightens it.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; AIM 8-1-5)
  • Motion sickness: open vents, focus outside, minimize head movement. Some motion-sickness medications cause drowsiness.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Carbon monoxide is odorless; a heater exhaust leak causes headache, drowsiness and confusion. Carry a CO detector.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Stress can be acute (a sudden emergency) or chronic (life pressures building up); chronic stress makes you unfit to fly. Fatigue, acute or chronic, slows reactions and judgment: only sleep cures it, and caffeine only masks it.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Dehydration: thirst comes late; drink before and during flight, especially in heat and at altitude, or expect headache, fatigue and poor judgment. Nutrition: skipped meals and low blood sugar bring weakness and poor concentration. Hypothermia: a lowered core temperature brings shivering, confusion, poor coordination and judgment; dress for the terrain and a possible forced landing, get warm and get medical care.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Landing illusions: a narrow or upsloping runway makes you feel high (you'll tend to fly a low approach); a wide or downsloping runway makes you feel low; featureless terrain or water at night ("black hole") makes you feel high too. Rain on the windshield and haze make you feel higher and farther away; entering fog can feel like pitching up; bright runway lights make the runway seem closer. Autokinesis: a stationary light stared at in the dark seems to move. A sloping cloud deck or terrain can create a false horizon. Counter them with the glidepath indicators, an altimeter cross-check, and not staring at one light.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; AIM 8-1-5)
  • Scuba diving: wait at least 12 hours after diving that didn't need decompression stops before flying up to 8,000 feet, and at least 24 hours before higher flights or after decompression-stop diving.(AIM chapter 8, Medical Facts for Pilots)

Alcohol, drugs and medication

  • No acting as a crewmember within 8 hours of drinking alcohol, while under the influence, or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.(14 CFR 91.17(a))
  • Except in an emergency, you may not carry a passenger who appears intoxicated or under the influence of drugs (a medical patient under proper care is the exception).(14 CFR 91.17(b))
  • No acting as a crewmember while using any drug that affects your faculties contrary to safety.(14 CFR 91.17(a))
  • Alcohol impairs judgment and makes you more susceptible to hypoxia and disorientation, and its effects can last well beyond 8 hours. Many pilots use 12 or 24 hours.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)
  • Over-the-counter drugs (antihistamines, cold and sleep medicines) can cause drowsiness. Don't fly while taking a medication that would keep you from meeting the medical standards; ask an AME when unsure.(14 CFR 61.53; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)

Making decisions

  • Single-pilot resource management means using everything available: ATC, Flight Service, passengers, automation and checklists.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Tools: IMSAFE (yourself), PAVE (Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures) for the flight, and a structured decision model. DECIDE is the classic one: Detect that something changed, Estimate the need to respond, Choose a desired outcome, Identify actions that get you there, Do it, and Evaluate the result. It works on the ground and in the air.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeronautical Decision-Making)
  • Personal minimums as a method: write down limits more conservative than the legal ones (wind and crosswind, ceiling, visibility, rest, recent experience) before you need them, then use IMSAFE against them as a go/no-go gate before every flight.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeronautical Decision-Making)
  • Hazardous attitudes and their antidotes: anti-authority ("Follow the rules. They are usually right."), impulsivity ("Not so fast. Think first."), invulnerability ("It could happen to me."), macho ("Taking chances is foolish."), resignation ("I'm not helpless. I can make a difference.").(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeronautical Decision-Making)

Attention and bias

  • Distractions break the chain of tasks. Prioritize: aviate, navigate, communicate.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Loss of situational awareness often starts with fixation on one problem. Step back and fly the airplane.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Expectation bias: you hear the clearance you expected. Confirmation bias: you favor information that supports what you've already decided. Read back clearances fully and look for evidence that you're wrong.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

  1. Recall · What does IMSAFE stand for?

    A strong answer: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion (or Eating).

  2. Understand · Why is hypoxia so dangerous even though it isn't painful?

    A strong answer: Its first effects are on judgment and can feel like euphoria, so you may not notice you're impaired until you can't fix it. You have to know your own symptoms and use oxygen by the regulations.

  3. Apply · You're tired after a long workday, but the weather is perfect and you promised a friend a flight tonight. What do you do?

    A strong answer: Run IMSAFE honestly: fatigue is a real impairment, especially at night. If I'm tired, I reschedule. My friend would rather fly another day than with a tired pilot.

Scenarios to talk through

  • In haze over featureless terrain, you realize you've been in a gradual descending turn and the airspeed is building. What's happening, and how do you recover?

    Sound decision: A developing graveyard spiral from spatial disorientation. Believe the instruments: reduce power, level the wings on the attitude indicator, then gently raise the nose to level flight.

  • At night you're landing at an airport with a much wider runway than you're used to. Which illusion do you expect, and what do you do?

    Sound decision: A wide runway makes you feel lower than you are, so you'll tend to fly a high approach. Use the VASI or PAPI and your altimeter to hold a normal glidepath.

  • You hear "N123AB, cleared to land runway 27" while you expected runway 27, but the frequency was busy and you're not sure it was your call sign. What do you do?

    Sound decision: Expectation bias is at work: you heard what you expected. Ask the tower to confirm before landing.

  • A passenger says, "Come on, the forecast is just being cautious, let's go." You notice yourself thinking "it won't happen to me." Which hazardous attitude is that, and its antidote?

    Sound decision: Invulnerability. The antidote: "It could happen to me." Then make the decision on the facts and your personal minimums.

5 · Common student errors

  • Naming a hazardous attitude without saying what you'd do.

    Why it matters: Recognizing it is only the start.

    How to correct it: Say the antidote and the action it leads to.

  • Treating "8 hours bottle to throttle" as enough.

    Why it matters: Effects can last well beyond 8 hours, and 0.04 or impairment still applies.

    How to correct it: Use a longer personal limit and judge how you feel.

  • Trusting your body over the instruments in low visibility.

    Why it matters: The inner ear gives false signals without outside references.

    How to correct it: Fly the attitude indicator and cross-check.

6 · Completion standard

  • Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
  • They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
  • They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on PA.I.H: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.I.H

7 · References

  • Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors; Aeronautical Decision-Making
  • Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
  • AIM, Chapter 8, Medical Facts for Pilots
  • 14 CFR 61.53, 91.17
  • Airman Certification Standards, task PA.I.H

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Human Factors lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-12). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.